The Housing Forum Futures Network is comprised of individuals working across all parts of the housing and construction sector and has created and published the Route Map for New Home Delivery to map out how different organisations and activities come together to deliver new homes.
Shelagh Grant, CEO of The Housing Forum, said: “I would like to thank The Futures Network and their mentors for their commitment and hard work in bringing the Route Map forward. Members of The Futures Network have contributed a broad perspective, coming from customer facing, legal, marketing and manufacturing backgrounds as well as a wide range of construction disciplines. At The Housing Forum, we know that quality and improvement in housing construction comes through partnering — working consistently — and as a team — towards shared outcomes — just as the Route Map demonstrates.”
The intended audience is everyone working across the housing sector — most of whom are familiar with only some of the stages of building new homes. For instance, architects can learn more about the manufacturing process, or planners can learn more about the process of managing housing after it is built. The aim was to produce a document that could be used as part of the induction process for people new to their companies and to provide everyone with a better understanding of how their role plays its part alongside other activities in the process of new home delivery.
So Sum Lee of the Futures Network and Consultant at Inner Circle Consulting said: “As a member of the Futures Network, I am excited to highlight the significance of the recently launched Route Map for New Home Development. This invaluable resource can serve as a comprehensive guide, covering every key stage of housing development, from project inception to post-occupancy.
“Our collective experiences and knowledge within the housing development process have been instrumental in creating this essential tool. By actively contributing to this project, we aim to support newcomers in the housing and construction sector by providing them with valuable insights and knowledge. Additionally, the Route Map extends the knowledge of existing professionals, empowering them to achieve successful outcomes in their housing development.”
The process of delivering new homes has been split into eight ‘stages’:
- The project inception and commissioning stage outlines the purpose, parameters, as well as the strategic and business plan of the project.
- The procurement stage focuses on ensuring the delivery of a financially viable project for all stakeholders.
- The design stage entails understanding the site, setting the brief, defining opportunities and constraints, setting a realistic programme and adopting a collaborative approach, while ensuring costing is undertaken at key milestones to ensure viability. It also involves regular reviewing and appointing a design team early on.
- The planning stage deals with the most crucial element of any development, namely planning permission, to avoid any delays and additional costs.
- The pre-construction stage envisages a fully coordinated technical design up to RIBA stage 4, taking into consideration all aspects of project briefing and design coordination in line with client requirements, and the input of specialist sub consultants and engineers.
- The manufacturing stage highlights the importance of ensuring earlier involvement from the right people in this stage, with the project as a whole.
- The construction and handover stage follows the commencement of the building works, and navigating the build programme set to deliver a development at the highest quality standard within the agreed contract price and timescales, and ready for occupation
- The use (post-occupancy and management) is the final and longest stage. It focuses on best practices for the use, maintenance and upkeep of the homes, which are now paramount to the longevity of the life cycle of the homes.
To download your copy of the Route Map for New Homes Delivery, click here: FUTURES NETWORK – ROUTE MAP FOR NEW HOME DELIVERY
